Native American man accuses former employer of discrimination after alleged assault by fellow employee

Lawsuit says Indians were often portrayed negatively in racist jokes, comments

A Springfield man has filed suit against his former employer, alleging that he was discriminated against and assaulted by a fellow employee.

Wakan Petite says he was regularly the subject of abuse and offensive jokes aimed at Native Americans during his time as a service technician at Country Ford in Tyndall, his lawsuit alleges. The suit says he worked at the car dealership from April 2019 to April 2021.

The lawsuit says Petite endured jokes that portrayed Native Americans as lazy. During his time at Country Ford, Petite didn’t receive any corrective action for his work performance.

Petite regularly reported the racist behavior to Larry Palsma, one of the dealership’s owners, and his service manager, identified as R.R., but no action was taken.

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